NYC, Chicago Waste Millions on Gunshot Detection Technology, Report Says
The New York City and Chicago police departments spend millions of dollars a year on gunshot detection technology that a privacy group argues is ineffective and invasive.
New York Police Department officers at the scene of a shooting in Brooklyn that left one person dead on June 16.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThe New York City and Chicago police departments spend millions of dollars a year on gunshot detection technology that a privacy group argues is ineffective and invasive.
The departments pay ShotSpotter Inc. for technology that uses microphones and audio software to identify the sounds of gunshots in neighborhoods. But the technology hasn’t made an impact on gun violence and typically doesn’t result in investigatory leads, according to a new report from the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit privacy organization.